The Department of War’s casualty database and its War Powers position both have a start date of July 7. This record shows how that came about, using the Department’s own statements and reports, in date order. Every entry in the main record is a government document or a named official on the record. Reports from anonymous sources are given their own table at the end, and the findings stand without them.
Entry
1. March 1, 2026
Record
An Iranian drone struck a tactical operations center at Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, just after 9 a.m. The center was a triple-wide trailer. There was no warning and no siren. Six Army Reserve logistics soldiers died; four were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command.
Secretary Hegseth, Pentagon briefing: “we ensured that the maximum possible defense and maximum possible force protection was set up before we went on offense.” On munitions: the United States can fight “easily as long as we need to.” On casualty reporting: it seeks to “make the President look bad.”
A KC-135 went down over western Iraq during a refueling mission. All six crew died. CENTCOM: the loss “was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.” A second KC-135 in the same incident landed at Ben Gurion with part of its tail sheared off. The public death count stood at 13.
Iranian missiles and drones struck Prince Sultan Air Base. CNN geolocated photographs of an E-3 Sentry with its tail broken off and its radar dome on the ground. The Air Force Association almanac records that one of the 16 remaining E-3s was destroyed in the attack. The pre-strike inventory was 16, with a FY2024 mission-capable rate under 56 percent. Six of the 16 had been deployed to that base.
Ceasefire. Direct exchanges of fire between US and Iranian forces halted. The United States maintained a naval blockade of Iranian ports during the ceasefire.
Secretary Hegseth to Senator Kaine, Senate Armed Services Committee: “We are in a ceasefire right now, which [in] our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses, or stops.” A senior administration official told Military Times that for War Powers purposes the conflict that began February 28 was “terminated.” The State Department’s legal adviser had argued the truce does not legally terminate the conflict. The 60-day deadline fell on May 1.
Senator Kelly said replenishing Tomahawks, Patriots and other munitions used in the war could take “years,” citing a Department briefing and Secretary Hegseth’s public testimony.
Secretary Hegseth said the E-7 Wedgetail “has a future” and submitted a budget amendment to fund it. The FY2026 request had zeroed the program in June 2025. Congress restored $1.1 billion. The FY2027 request again omitted it. The reversal came after the March 27 loss.
The Council of the Inspectors General designated the Department of War Inspector General as Lead IG for Operation Epic Fury, triggering mandatory quarterly reports to Congress.
Hostilities resumed July 7. The President’s July 10 letter to Congress reported that the ceasefire had ended and military action had resumed on July 7. The administration treated July 7 as the start of a new 60-day period under the War Powers Resolution.
Three Army air defenders died in an Iranian missile and drone attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, Jordan: 1st Lt. Tyler Feehan, Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, Sgt. Angel Rampersad. Sgt. Michael Swinton died at Erbil during the controlled detonation of a downed Iranian drone. When the Pentagon announced two of the Jordan deaths, it said the soldiers were supporting the counter-ISIS mission.
DCAS listed 18 killed and 482 wounded under Operation Epic Fury. On July 22 the President and the Secretary attended the dignified transfer of the four at Dover Air Force Base. The Department had tied the deaths to Iranian attacks.
DCAS fell to 14 killed and 420 wounded. Three military officials told the New York Times the four were removed because they died after the April ceasefire. Acting press secretary Joel Valdez attributed the drop to “temporary data disruptions” and “anomalies.” The President the same day: “four great American patriots killed.” Representative Massie: the Pentagon is “pretending there have been two Iran wars.” Twelve Senate Armed Services Democrats wrote to the Secretary demanding a full accounting and asking how many troops had been screened for and diagnosed with concussion or traumatic brain injury.
DCAS was restructured into two categories. Operation Epic Fury: 14 killed, 417 wounded. A new category, Overseas Operations, with a stated start date of July 7: 4 killed, 207 wounded. Combined: 18 killed, 624 wounded. The restructuring added more than 200 wounded in one revision.
A Pentagon official told The Hill that since Operation Epic Fury has “concluded,” the Department “classifies casualties as overseas operations” in the Central Command theater.
Representatives Garcia and Subramanyam wrote to the Secretary requesting every change record for DCAS involving Epic Fury or Overseas Operations, the policies governing how deaths and injuries are assigned to operational categories, and legal analyses related to a proposed expansion of the Department’s authority to withhold controlled unclassified information under FOIA. The letter notes that July 7 is the date the administration claims opened a new 60-day War Powers period. Response deadline: August 18.
Senator Duckworth introduced legislation to prevent the Department from resetting a war’s casualty count by reclassifying the dead and wounded under new operational labels.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao: “They blew the hell out of Bahrain.” A task force is examining whether to repair Naval Support Activity Bahrain, headquarters of the Fifth Fleet. More than 1,000 family members were evacuated and told they will stay away for the foreseeable future. The military had said little about the extent of the damage before his remarks.
The Lead IG report to Congress, covering through June 30, was released. Deaths: 11 killed in action, 7 in non-hostile events, 18 total. Wounded: at least 417. Aircraft, per a table sourced to CRS and CENTCOM: four F-15E destroyed, one F-35A damaged, one A-10 shot down, seven KC-135 damaged or destroyed, one E-3 damaged, one MQ-4C crashed, one AH-64 shot down, one MH-60S crashed, one HH-60W damaged, two MC-130J and four AH-6 destroyed by US forces, as many as 30 MQ-9 destroyed. Iranian strikes damaged or destroyed “hundreds of buildings and structures” at US installations in eight countries, with no itemization. Cost through June 29: $33.4 billion, of which $7.4 billion incremental operations, $22.3 billion munitions replacement, $3.7 billion equipment losses.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated the war’s cost at $38.1 billion through August 1, with $2 billion to $3 billion for each further month. CBO reported that the war consumed as much as two thirds of US missile-defense interceptors since June 2025 and that rebuilding the inventory would take at least five years even with increased production. The estimate excludes base repair.
Central Command’s estimate to the congressional defense oversight panels: $43.6 billion as of September 3, comprising $11.2 billion obligated for incremental operations, $28.1 billion to replace expended munitions, and $4.3 billion to replace equipment losses. The estimate excludes damage to US military facilities in eight countries and omits the indirect-cost breakdown lawmakers requested. The Department has asked for $67.1 billion in supplemental funds.
The discrepancies below are pairs of entries from the record above. Each pairs one Department statement or document with another.
Discrepancy
A. One war or two
Entries
6 against 11. On April 30 the Secretary testified that the ceasefire stopped the War Powers clock, and an administration official said the February 28 conflict was terminated. In July the Secretary testified to a cumulative war cost of $37.5 billion and gave no indication the war had ended. The same official treats the war as ended for statutory purposes and as continuing for budget purposes.
Discrepancy
B. The database and the statute
Entries
10, 16, 17. The Overseas Operations category begins July 7. The administration’s new 60-day War Powers period begins July 7. The Department’s stated rationale for the category is that Epic Fury “concluded.” The casualty schema and the legal position are the same claim.
Discrepancy
C. The stated reason for removal
Entries
15 against 10 and 12. The removal was attributed to the deaths falling after the April ceasefire. The President’s July 10 letter reported that action had resumed July 7. The four died July 17 to 19, inside the resumed period.
Discrepancy
D. Which mission the dead belong to
Entries
12, 14, 16. Two of the Jordan deaths were announced as supporting the counter-ISIS mission. The Department tied all four deaths to Iranian attacks. The database now files them under a category the Department says exists because the Iran operation concluded.
Discrepancy
E. The wounded count moved against the spokesman
Entries
13 against 15. On July 20 the spokesman said nearly 100 troops had been wounded since July 7. On July 23 the public wounded count fell by 62.
Discrepancy
F. Damaged against destroyed
Entries
22 against 4 and 8. The IG report to Congress records the E-3 as damaged. The Air Force Association almanac records it as destroyed, geolocated photographs show the fuselage in two pieces, and the Secretary reversed the cancellation of the E-3’s replacement program in May, four months before the report went to Congress.
Discrepancy
G. Force protection
Entries
2 against 1, 4, 21. The Secretary said maximum possible force protection was in place before offensive operations began. The first six deaths came in a trailer with no siren on day two. The E-3 was destroyed on an unprotected taxiway on day 28. The Fifth Fleet headquarters is out of service and its repair is under review.
Discrepancy
H. Munitions
Entries
2 against 7 and 23. The Secretary said the United States could fight as long as needed. A senator cited the Secretary’s own later testimony for a replenishment timeline measured in years. CBO puts interceptor rebuild at five years minimum and consumption at two thirds of inventory.
Discrepancy
I. What the cost figure omits
Entries
24 against 21 and 22. The $43.6 billion estimate excludes facility damage. The IG records hundreds of buildings damaged or destroyed in eight countries. The Navy is deciding whether to rebuild its regional headquarters. The excluded category is the one the Department’s own reports describe as extensive.
The following figures are reported by named outlets citing anonymous officials. They are consistent with the record above and add nothing on their own.
Reported
22 or 23 service members dead since February 28, and three American contractors dead in the region.
Basis
Six officials with access to internal casualty accounting, Washington Post, September 18. Link.
Reported
At least 45 MQ-9 Reapers lost, about a quarter of the fleet, some to data-link failure and some on the ground.
Basis
Three officials, Washington Post, August 13. Link. The IG’s figure of as many as 30 is dated June 30.
Reported
The commanders of European, Pacific and Southern Command and the Chief of Naval Operations recorded formal non-concurs in the August 14 Secretary of Defense Orders Book on orders extending forces for the Iran campaign into 2027. The Army and Air Force chiefs concurred with significant risk.
Basis
People familiar with a classified document, Washington Post, August 30. Link. The Pentagon disputed the report. NOTUS, August 30.
Reported
The President confronted the Secretary over the munitions shortfall at Camp David in late July. The Post reported the shortfall contributed to the President calling off major strikes.
Basis
Washington Post, August; the White House and Pentagon denied the confrontation. The Secretary had announced a joint Pentagon-Justice leak task force in July. Time, August 7.
The following items are pending.
Open
The Department’s response to the August 4 House Oversight letter, due August 18. No response has been reported.
Open
Contractor deaths. The Defense Base Act requires employers to report contractor deaths within ten days. The Department of Labor publishes DBA case summaries by nation for each fiscal year with a death column. FY2026 closes September 30. The rows for Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Jordan and Iraq, read against the FY2018 to FY2020 baseline, will give the first independent count. Labor’s own caveats: the figures count cases created rather than deaths occurred, and they include third-country nationals. DOL, about the DBA reports. FY2020 report by nation.
Open
The Air Force’s own inventory record for E-3G tail 81-0005. A damaged aircraft remains on the books. A destroyed one is struck. The FY2028 justification books, now in preparation, are the first that can show which.
Open
The concussion and traumatic brain injury screening figures requested by the twelve Senate Armed Services Democrats on July 23.
Every entry in the main record is the Department describing itself. The discrepancies are then the Department disagreeing with itself. The database was built on July 25 to match a legal theory the Secretary stated on April 30. His testimony in July, his budget amendment in May, and the Department’s Inspector General report in September each contradict a different part of it. The record needs no anonymous sources because all of this is public now.
